Building departments discuss sharing

Saturday

Nov 16, 2013 at 10:00 AM

The Stark County Building Department is exploring sharing services with Massillon, North Canton and other departments, and remains open to a similar pact with Canton, even though recent discussions have come to an end, Commissioner Thomas Bernabei said this week.

Matthew Rink CantonRep.com staff writer @mrinkREP

Will there ever be one-stop shopping for the county's building trades?

The Stark County Building Department is exploring sharing services with Massillon, North Canton and other departments, and remains open to a similar pact with Canton, even though recent discussions have come to an end, Commissioner Thomas Bernabei said Thursday.

The concept of merging building departments has been discussed multiple times over the last decade, but most municipalities have been weary of forfeiting local control, said Robert Nau, director of the Stark County Regional Planning Commission. Sharing services has been the favorable approach.

"It's a coalition of the willing," Nau said.

"A BETTER WAY"

Discussions come on the heels of a study conducted recently on behalf of Regional Planning about how to best share services, rather than consolidate. Nau expects Regional Planning to seek qualifications from software vendors for a common computer program in coming weeks. Having the same software is the first step toward sharing services, the study recommends. It would cost an estimated $187,850 for the county's six departments to implement.

The study also recommends sharing inspectors and plans examiners.

"It's a state code and for the most part it's a standard code," Nau said. "If you submit plans to Massillon or you submit plans to North Canton, it really doesn't matter who does the plans review because it's the same code. That lends itself to some shared services. If Massillon is really busy they can just send (plans) to North Canton for review if they've got a little free time. You've got to work out the financials, but the builder doesn't care. He just wants his plans reviewed."

Massillon's Chief Building Official William Kraft said he favors shared services. In Massillon's case, it would likely retain its code enforcement and zone inspection duties, while farming out other operations, like building inspections. Kraft said discussions are in their infancy.

Kraft said he and others already fill in at the Canton Building Department when it is short staffed and vice versa. The study acknowledged that some sharing of services is already going on, but there needs to be "management of the system as a whole."

"I'm a promoter of it; always have been," Kraft said. "It's just a better way of doing things."

The study by Virginia-based Institute for Building Technology and Safety was issued in September. Regional Planning used a Local Government Innovation Fund grant from the state to pay for it. It also recommends the use of common forms and a common fee structure.

WORKABLE?

Nau said talks won't stop even though the largest possible partner is out of play – at least for now.

Canton Mayor William J. Healy II announced with the hiring of a new chief building official Wednesday that the city and county had ended discussions over shared services. In August, Healy proposed an arrangement in which the city contracted the county for inspections, permitting and plans examinations of commercial and industrial structures in the city limits.

Healy felt the time was right to explore the idea because Angela Cavanaugh, the city's chief building official, was being hired by the county in the same position. Cavanaugh's contract with the county allowed her to also serve the city for 120 days.

But over the course of two meetings in September, the city ran into obstacles:

The county wouldn't be able to entirely enforce Canton's journeyman license requirement, which requires electricians and plumbers to have experience in the field and pass an examination, among requirements. Healy said the city wasn't willing to scrap the requirement.The work of unionized employees in the Canton Building Department is protected. The city cannot contract it out, even if there were no plans to lay off those workers, who are represented by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Canton Law Director Joe Martuccio said. The biggest savings would have been from eliminating the positions of the chief building official and plans examiner.Bernabei and David Bridenstine, a retired assistant Stark County prosecutor who was part of the discussions, said the county felt it could handle some enforcement of the journeyman license. By law, the county does not have the authority to enact a journeyman requirement of its own. However, county employees could inquire about a worker's journeyman status and then refer issues to the city.

"We all thought it was workable," Bernabei said.

Both Healy and Bernabei say they remain open to the idea of sharing services.

Reach Matthew at 330-580-8527 or

matthew.rink@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @mrinkREP

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